Chess

Object: Checkmate the opponent's King by attacking it so it cannot escape.

A Pawn can move straight ahead one square, or two squares from
its starting position. A Pawn captures by moving one square ahead and
diagonally. If a Pawn reaches the far rank it promotes, changing into
a Knight, Bishop, Rook, or Queen. On rare occasions Pawns can also execute
a move called `En Passant`, or `in passing`. This allows a Pawn to take
an enemy Pawn that has just moved two squares.

A Knight moves like an `L`, two squares vertically plus one
horizontally, or two squares horizontally plus one vertically. It
hops over any pieces on the way.

A Bishop moves any number of squares on a diagonal. It may
not leap over other pieces.

A Rook moves any number of squares orthogonally on a rank
or a file. It may not leap over other pieces.

A Queen moves any number of squares in a straight line.
It may not leap over other pieces.

A King can move to any adjacent square, but never to a
square where it can be captured. It may also `castle`
with the Rook if neither the Rook nor King has moved yet and there is
nothing in between them. In castling the King moves two squares nearer
the Rook and the Rook leaps to the far side of the King. You may not
castle out of or through check, or if the King or Rook involved has
previously moved.

Try playing one of the many exciting variants.

Chess is a modern version of an ancient Indian game called Shatranj. The
earliest record of Shatranj is found in a Persian work called
Karnamak-i-Artakhshatr-i-Papakan written in about A.D. 600. The present-day
form of chess is a little over 100 years old: according to Hooper and Whyld's
`The Oxford Companion to Chess`, en passant capture was universally adopted in
1880, although the initial double step for pawns dates from about the 13th
century. The most important changes from Shatranj to Chess, expanded moves for
the queen and bishop, date from about 1475. Castling began sometime in the
16th century, but there were many variants of king and rook placement until
the modern standard was established.

In the opening, try to develop your pieces more than your pawns. Always
protect your King. Look for ways to exchange lower valued pieces for larger valued
ones. Generally, if a Pawn is worth 1 point, then a Bishop or Knight is worth 3,
a Rook is worth 5 and a Queen worth 9 points.

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